Aquatic Cities in the Central Plain of Thailand: Study of Urban Form and Maps of 1960

Abstract

This paper presents a study of cities located on floodable topography in the Central Plain of Thailand.
These cities were once called aquatic cities, Bangkok was also known as the “Venice of the East” due
to its extraordinary relationship with water. The study will analyses the transitional period of change from water-based to land-based cities using the surveyed and published maps in city’s scale that were generated for the first time in Thailand in 1960. The paper will therefore explain the particular identity and characters of these water-based cities through urban form, size and articulation between water and land.